1. Field
The present invention relates to architectures and designs of digital systems. More specifically, but without limitation thereto, the present invention pertains to an electronic signal conversion system that utilizes a noise injection system in order to maintain or increase signal resolution and increase the dynamic range. The present invention also offers a more time-efficient conversion as well as a more cost-effective conversion method.
2. Prior Art
The following is a tabulation of some prior art that presently appears relevant:
U.S. PatentsPat. No.Kind CodeIssue DatePatentee5,077,5621991 Dec. 31Chang et al.5,630,2211997 May 13Birleson6,049,2512000 Apr. 11Meyer6,526,139Bl2003 Feb. 25Rousell et al.Non-Patent Literature Documents
Estrada, A.; Autotestcon, 2007 IEEE, “Improving high speed analog to digital converter dynamic range by noise injection”.
Currently in the electronics field, conversions between digital and analog signals are necessary for many day-to-day electronic operations. Analog signals are signals that utilize properties of the medium to convey the signal's information, essentially used in its original form. In particular for the field of electronics, an analog signal is taking a signal and translating it directly into electronic pulses. On the other hand, a signal is considered digital when it is processed into discrete time signals, usually in the form of a binary code (1s and 0s instead of a continuously variable function as found in analog signals). Nowadays, although nearly all information is encrypted digitally, analog signals commonly function as carrier signals for information transmission.
As a result, conversions between analog and digital signals for modern electronics are a common occurrence. For example, portable cellular phone signals are broadcast in the analog format and need to be converted to a digital signal within the phone itself for practical use.
Television signals are also transmitted in the analog spectrum and have to be converted to digital format for signal processing.
A key performance index of conversion from analog to digital (A/D) is the dynamic range, which is the ratio between the smallest and largest possible values of changeable quantities. Additionally, only signal strengths within the specified dynamic range can be detected. As a result, the dynamic range that is factored into A/D circuit design is required to be reasonably wide, and in some cases, to be as wide as possible. For instance, color perceptible to the human eye ranges from 4.28.times.10.sup.14 Hz (hertz) to 7.14.times.10.sup.14 Hz. If, for example, a TV's dynamic range cannot cover this spectrum, the quality of the TV signal will degrade as it cannot show all the colors in the received TV video signal.
Utilizing such wide dynamic ranges has several issues. While higher dynamic range means better precision and resolution of digital signals, the higher dynamic range also necessitates more expensive and precise equipment. There are cases where it is impossible to implement such devices either because it is impractical or too costly, such as in mobile devices.
Additionally, analog-to-digital conversions have an issue with unwanted noise being introduced into the signal. One source of noise is the conversion itself, as an analog signal is changed to a format that eliminates some of the fine resolution of the signal. Because of this, research has been performed to increase the dynamic range of analog-to-digital converters without changing the resolution, as well as reducing unwarranted and unwanted noise. The present embodiment of the invention aims to mitigate both of these factors in A/D converters by introducing a “noise” injection to essentially cancel out any unwanted noise as well as maintain a high dynamic range so that resolution is not lost in the conversion.